


Murphy's Law

by Eskayrobot, Poaxath



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Getting Lost, Road Trips, Sex in a Car
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:43:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eskayrobot/pseuds/Eskayrobot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poaxath/pseuds/Poaxath
Summary: Rey and Kylo decide to take a road trip in the summer. That's always a great couple activity, right?





	Murphy's Law

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 'Murica Day to all of our fellow 'muricans. Happy normal July 4th to the rest of you! Enjoy our little fic!

They were lost. Worst than lost even: they were in the middle of nowhere with no signal and no one around for miles to ask for directions...and the car had broken down.

It had sounded like a good idea: take a road trip from Coruscant to Chandrila, stopping at every pre-voted-upon tourist destination on their way across the country. Snacks had been bought, the cooler had been packed full, and playlists had been created. They were doing the first leg of the trip with Finn, Rose, and Poe in their own car, where they would depart from each other in Corellia. Kylo and Rey would drive through the next set of states alone until they reached Vardos, where they’d sync up with Hux and Phasma and continue the rest of the trip to Chandrila. Finn had been upset to lose out on the chance for stopping at Canto Blight, but Poe and Rose had overruled him. Hux and Phasma had already been vacationing in Vardos for the last week and they were eager to get back home to Chandrila but excited to spend time with Kylo and his girlfriend.

Rey had always dreamed of making a trip like this and she’d been modifying her car for such a trip for the last few years. She was looking forward to a simple drive with music pumped through her tape deck adaptor, hand-crank windows, state-by-state maps in the glove compartment with the routes highlighted, and an air mattress spread from the trunk to the back seat, perfect for those nights when a hotel wasn’t nearby when they got tired. That was the plan, until Kylo had insisted on driving his SUV and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Rey had been upset to lose that fight, but when Kylo reminded her that traveling in July meant that air conditioning was necessary and she had yet to fix that, she caved to allow him his fancy SUV (even if her thighs stuck to the leather seats in the too-hot summer sun, unlike the safety of her worn-down cloth seats). Sure, the music sounded great through his fancy speakers, and the in-dash GPS was a great way of avoiding the inevitable construction, but she’d missed the simplicity of her station wagon. Poe had drooled over Kylo’s high-end vehicle and even tried to bribe Rey to drive some of the trip with Rose and Finn instead so he could enjoy the amenities, but he’d been too reluctant to leave his own car in either of their hands and he had to settle with following the sleek black car instead.  

The first leg had been pleasant. Rey and Rose had picked a half dozen stops, ranging from parks to picnic in, trails to hike on, and Great Lakes to swim in. Well, it had seemed pleasant to _them._ Kylo had been raised the rich-boy life and he was used to doing all of his physical activity in expensive gyms, under the tight regiments of a personal trainer; he didn’t forge or hike or swim in lakes. Finn and Poe had fared slightly better, if only slightly, though. Poe had been a boy scout...who often bribed others with his wit and charms to do the harder things for him, especially when it came to the outdoors things. Finn had been raised on in a military-like foster home, but going outside was seen as a privilege and he had not often earned that. So it was mostly Rey and Rose smiling and laughing and splashing as running, while the boys lagged behind them, secretly hating life but not brave enough to admit it.

They spent an entire day in Corellia together, seeing the sights of the lake-side metropolis on a whirlwind tour. Finn, Rose, and Poe would be staying for an additional four days, taking in theater, museums, and every restaurant Finn could find with a great rating that wasn’t a lot money. Rey was at least happy to have some legitimate Corellia-style pizza for the first time in her life, although all of them agreed that nothing beat Coruscant pizza. They kept this opinion quiet, though, knowing how Corellia people were incredibly protective of their thick pizzas, and not wishing to start any fights. Poe had seemed sad to leave behind the sight of Kylo’s tech-savvy SUV, but Kylo had at least promised to let him drive it when they all returned home to Coruscant next week. With final parting hugs all around, Rey and Kylo bid them goodbye and set out on their solo journey.

Hux had begun messaging Kylo from the moment they left Corellia, snarking about how Phasma was bitching about wanting to get home as soon as possible and that they needed to hurry up and meet them. Rey had been unhappy at rushing any part of their trip, insisting that the whole point of this was to take their time and relax and enjoy their hard-earned time off from their individual jobs, but Kylo’s loyalties seemed to lie with relieving his friend from the complaints of his wife and he skipped one of Rey’s tourist spots. That night she’d gotten her own hotel room and refused to let him in. The next morning, he begged her forgiveness with an offering of donuts and she had sighed that it wasn’t _that_ big of a deal. Kylo’d kissed her sweetly and made love to her slowly on her bed while promising to bring her back later in the summer so she wouldn’t miss anything at all. She’d decided that that was a good enough compromise.

However, now that Kylo was rushing to help Hux, he was getting distracted. When he missed the _next_ exit to an attraction, Rey huffed and abruptly switched to a different playlist. When he skipped a third, she shut the music off completely. And when he insisted that he knew a better shortcut to get around the completely stopped traffic they suddenly found themselves sitting in (which they wouldn’t have gotten stuck in at all if he’d just agreed to go see the canyons…), things took a true turn for the worst.

They were on their way to a double-fuel stop when Rey first noticed that the SUV was making a strange noise. She insisted that she take a look under the hood when they stopped, but Kylo had grumbled that his car was _fine_ and that she was just bitter that they were taking his instead. She had tried to gently assert that it didn’t hurt to let her just take a quick peak, but he became unnecessarily overprotective of it and kept a sharp eye on her as they ate. When he got up to use the restroom, she saw a message from Hux about how _women were just like that, sometimes_ and she tried to ignore it, not wanting to jump to conclusions. But when he practically led her to the passenger seat by her arm, she put two-and-two together and correctly guessed that Kylo had been complaining about _her_ now.

Kylo had attempted to smooth the situation over, insisting that it was nothing more than his own manly pride being stung that she thought she could figure out what was wrong with his car before he could, which did nothing but annoy her more. She _worked_ on cars for a _living_ , while he worked in an _office_. Was he really one of those men who thought there were women’s jobs and men’s jobs? Why the hell had she been dating for these last eight months? However, Kylo had smoothed things over once more, emphasizing that it was _his_ insecurity that was the problem here, nothing at all to do with her or her amazing talents. She called him pigheaded but she was glad to hear that he admitted that the issue lied with himself and not her and that was the end of it.

Until now. They were on another one of Kylo’s special shortcuts, cutting through the desert in an attempt to reach Vardos sooner. When they’d lost signal on the GPS, Rey had asked that they turn back and avoid this route. Kylo had insisted that it was fine and kept going. When Rey realized that this road wasn’t on her maps she asked that they turn to one that was. Kylo had reassured her that it was a new road and that this was fine, he’d driven on it the last time he went to Vardos for a business trip. And then the engine started smoking. And then neither had any sort of a signal on anything. And then night fell.

Kylo had been the first to react with rage, shouting loudly and punching his steering wheel the moment he was able to get it to the side of the road. Rey had to leave the car to escape his shouting; she wasn’t afraid he was going to hurt her at all, she knew he never would, but his voice was loud and the SUV was only so big and she didn’t want to go deaf. When he got out of the car to kick at the front bumper, she had tried to soothe him, even as rage built in her own chest. If he’d listened to her about _any_ of the things she’d _tried_ to warn him about, none of this would have happened. If he’d listened to her about the route or let her take a look at the engine or stayed on their original route which kept them abreast to civilization the entire time or let her drive for _once_ or, hell, if they’d taken _her_ car with a brand new engine that she had built specifically for such a trip...but no. No. Everything had gone his way and now everything had gone wrong. And she couldn’t argue with him. She had to keep him calm. She had to figure out how to save them. She couldn’t get mad. She couldn’t get…

“Fuck!” She snapped as she tripped over a sharp little plant, having not seen it in her blind rage walk to the trunk to get some water from the cooler. She glared at the little cactus and opened the hatch, shoving all of his unnecessary luggage off the cooler only to let out another explicative. “Fuck! The fucking _cooler_ leaked! Great. This is just fucking _great!”_

Popping the hood of the SUV, Kylo stormed out of the car, slamming the door behind him. “What do you mean the fucking cooler leaked? What the _fuck?!_ ” he yelled, coming around to inspect the damage beside her. “Great, just fucking _fantastic!_ Stuck out here with no water, in the fucking desert with no signal.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket to check again, as though moving five feet may have helped. He even held it up into the air to try and get a bar or two, but nope, nada. Nothing. Clenching his fingers around the phone, he heard it give a threatening creak. Stupid fucking technology, stupid cars, stupid trip. “This trip was a terrible idea,” he muttered under his breath as he tossed the phone over the back seats to hear it land somewhere inside.

Marching around to the front of the SUV, he waved away as much smoke as he could to try and diagnose the problem. It looked like the radiator was blown. And with nothing to repair it with and no water to help cool it down, they were fucked. The car wouldn't be able to run more than a mile or two at a time before overheating in the stupid fucking desert.

“This trip was a _fine_ idea. It was pushing the agenda and ignoring literally _every_ warning sign that did us in,” Rey grumbled under her breath, shaking with the rage and trying to remain _calm_. They couldn’t both be mad. That wouldn’t help. But damnit if she didn’t think she was the one who actually deserved to be angry.

She grabbed one of their very last water bottles, wondering how they should use it. The temperature would drop soon but they’d want the water come morning. However, if it really was the radiator, the water was better used in there. She could try to scoop some of the remaining melted ice out of the cooler, but it wouldn’t do much. Plus, there were little bits of food floating in there and that wouldn’t be good for their bodies or the car. Annoyed, she shoved aside his laptop bag, secretly pleased that it had gotten wet. She had begged that he bring no more technology than her DSLR camera and their phones, but she knew he was secretly doing work on his laptop at night in the hotels. Of course he couldn’t take a real vacation with her. His job was clearly more important. All he ever cared about was fucking First Order and his deadlines and stupid Hux and…

 _“Calm down, relax, getting angry won’t help,”_ she chanted in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she moved around to the front of the car, stuffing down a biting comment about if he would let her look at the car now.

“Do you think you can fix this, oh great one?” he asked sarcastically, pointing down to the engine. Okay, he was being petty now, but this was not _entirely_ his fault.

Rey glared at him, her jaw twitching in annoyance as she struggled to keep her tone calm. “Well, if it _was_ the radiator, maybe. But it’s not. It’s the timing belt. See that, right there? That’s not supposed to look like that. You’ve wrecked this shiny car so hard and it is literally impossible to fix in our current circumstances.”

“It had a fucking inspection before this trip. Because that's what people do. They have a mechanic look at the engine, change the oil, and rotate the tires before a trip. And that's what I had done. So everything was _fine_ before we left,” he snapped, pushing his already sweat-damp hair out of his eyes. Fighting wasn't going to make anything better, and it wouldn't change anything about their current situation, but damn it, she had been riding his ass nearly the whole trip and this was finally a good excuse to let it out.

“Gee, if only you knew a competent mechanic who wouldn’t have missed something like that,” Rey bit out, unable to hold in her sarcasm. “But, no, no. Go ahead and take it to your special men’s garage where special male mechanics look at special men’s cars and fix everything with a gross woman ever touching it.”

“Wow, really mature, Rey. I only took it there because I've been going there for _years_ and haven't had a problem with them yet. It has nothing to do with you being a woman, so throw your pity party somewhere else,” he said shortly, going to the back of the vehicle to see if there were any tools that might help. “What the _fuck!_ ” he shouted, pulling out his drenched laptop bag. There was no way the computer inside wasn't soaked as well, the inner components probably swimming by now.

Rey bit back a smirk as she peaked around the hood to see him glaring at his laptop bag. Good. Served him right, especially after his jerkish comment. It hadn’t really bothered her in the last eight months of their relationship that he didn’t see her for maintenance on any of his armada of cars, despite the fact that they had met because he’d broken down in front of her garage and she’d worked on the curious white junker she has yet to see again for him.

She hadn’t even liked him at first. He’d been a huge fuck the entire time she worked on the car, grumbling that he’d rather just trash the piece of shit than let her mess with it. But she’d defended the ancient vehicle and insisted that Falcon’s were rare, so he needed to treat it nicely. It was only when she offered her services at half price, so eager as she was to work on such a unique car, that he begrudgingly let her do the repairs. She was thought that would be the last of him, but when they ran into each other a month later at a coffee shop she’d recognized him and inquired about the car. He’d avoided the subject and instead apologized for lashing out at her, treating her the coffee. She decided that he wasn’t that bad and offered up her number, just in case the Falcon needed any other work done on it in the future, nothing more. When they ran into each other at a classic car show two weeks later, they struck up a conversation about which they liked the most and eventually realized that they had spent the entire afternoon together. She had tried not to be too disappointed when they did not lead to him calling her, but when they ran into each other once more at that coffee shop three weeks after that, he asked her out on a date, explaining sheepishly that he had lost her number and was trying to run into her at the coffee shop ever since the car show. She was charmed and the rest was history.

It hadn’t been smooth sailing, of course. He was still surly and snippy and too quick to judgement on so many things. He liked to argue and he was incredibly stubborn. Luckily, Rey was just as stubborn but she also knew what battles were worth fighting and which were easier left alone. But _this_? Oh, this was quickly becoming a battle she was going to die for. Fuck him. This was all his fault and she refused to let him attempt to blame this on her one bit.

“What happened now, _honey_?” She cooed with false affection, moving to his side. “Oh no! Not your laptop! However will you secretly work on your reports when you think I’m asleep _now?_ ”

Glowering at her, he held up the bag, “Not everyone can just _get away_ from work, Rey. You know about the cases I've been assigned! I _told_ you before we left that I'd have to do _some_ stuff. Fuck, you just don't listen!” he tossed the bag back into the trunk and shook his head. “This whole fucking trip, you've been nagging me. ‘Kylo do this, Kylo do that, Kylo turn here.’ Fuck! Just get out of my ass for two fucking seconds!” He stormed a couple of feet away, before he started shouting again. He didn't want to yell _in_ her face, but he needed to yell _something._ “You know, sometimes I wonder why we’re even together. All we fucking do is fight!”

She stumbled back a step, her heart feeling like it had been stabbed right through. Her eyes immediately burned with tears and her throat tightened up, but she was not going to back down. She’d make him regret that. “Are you _fucking kidding me!?_ Seriously, Kylo, who the fuck says something like that! First of all, fuck you. I worked my fingers to the fucking bone to be caught up enough at the garage that they wouldn’t miss me while we took this trip that we planned _together_. You fucking knew that we were doing this and you should try trusting Mitaka for once to handle shit while you’re gone. Doing a little bit of work is not the same thing as obsessively checking your emails and placing chamomile tea in my hands the _moment_ we get into the hotel room at night so I’ll pass out and you can sneak around working. You don’t give a fuck about my fucking nightmares and making sure I stay asleep, you just want to work without any guilt.

“Second of all, I haven’t been _nagging_ you! I’ve been trying to make sure that we both get what we wanted out of this trip. We agreed on destinations together and from the moment your stupid fucking partner started bitching about his wife, who, may I remind you, he is _lucky_ to have in the first place, you decide to rush to his aid. I don’t give a flying fuck if it will help your workplace relations or whatever. The relationship you _should_ be focusing on is ours, but, since you can’t seem to remember why we’re even in it in the first place, I guess it makes sense! Go ahead and run off to your stupid best friend, I’ll just fucking walk to civilization,” Rey snapped.  

Narrowing his eyes, he took a step back in her direction, leveling a finger at her. “Well with my laptop gone, I guess I have no choice but to focus on it, so let it all out, Rey! Tell me how you _really_ feel!” Why did this sound a lot more serious than he'd thought it would? Did they really have relationship issues? He knew he was always swamped with work, but he hadn't thought it was _this_ bad. And he certainly hadn't meant to disregard her nightmares like that. But they were in too deep now, and the fight had already started, so it needed to run its course, for better or worse.

“Gosh, wherever do I start?” she growled. “Besides the fact that you’ve been complaining this _entire_ trip, and don’t you dare pretend that you weren’t because I saw you rolling your eyes when we went hiking with my friends, how about the fact that we’ve barely had sex this entire trip, except the morning you tried to make up for the _last_ fight we had? Or the fact that you disregard every suggestion I’ve made? Or the fact that you _just looked at your fucking smart watch!?_ Oh, god, and don’t even get me _started_ on how, when I went to visit you for lunch at your office two weeks ago, you referred to me as “that girl from the garage” as if I were some sort of a _service person_ to you and not your fucking girlfriend for nearly a fucking _year!?_ Or how Hux was genuinely surprised when you told him our plans for this trip because he, and I quote, “did not think you were that serious about me”. You thought I didn’t hear that, but I did.”  

He gawked at her for a moment, the wind completely taken from his sails. Fumbling for words, his mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally sighed. She was absolutely right, and he had absolutely _no_ rebuttal; he'd treated her like shit. It was still hot, his body still overheated, but it was like she'd just dumped a bucket of ice water on his head. “You're right,” he finally said, his tone much more quiet now. “I haven't given you the attention or respect you deserve.” He looked down at the dirt beneath their feet, dry and cracked, before meeting her eyes again. “I'm sorry. I've been an ass. The comment about you being the girl from the garage wasn't a barb at you; that's just how some of those people know you. It's not like I don't mention you by name, Rey. But they don't remember all the details, so that's how I remind them. I didn't think...I didn't see that it would be that much of an issue. I'm sorry.”

He paused, chewing on his lip. How did he even begin to explain that Hux was just Hux. He didn't think anyone was serious about anyone except for him and Phasma.

“Kylo, that’s…” she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, “I don’t know if that’s enough. This whole time we’ve been dating, I’ve always been unsure where I stood with you. I know that we have vastly different backgrounds but I always assumed that the attraction we felt for each other would be enough to make up for that. I mean, you were _fantastic_ with my friends, even if you hated every minute of it. Poe really likes you, and I know Finn and Rose had a good time with you, too. But when you come to my apartment, I know you’re thinking about everything you could replace. And when we go out to restaurants I pick, you act like it’s beneath you. You’re never rude or anything, but you never eat a lot and I know it’s because you don’t think it’s good enough, because I’ve seen you eat and I’ve seen you eat a _lot_ in one sitting. But when I’m in your world, I feel like I can’t...like I shouldn’t touch anything. I’m going to have oil under my fingernails forever, but whenever we see your friends, I feel like I should have gotten a manicure first. I see the way they look at my nails, at my clothes and my hair. I’m not posh like they are and they know it. None of your friends think I’m good enough for you and I just…” she leaned against the car, kicking at the dirt. “I don’t think I am, either. I thought this trip would help us find some common ground and grow together as a couple, but it’s just helped prove that we really are from two different worlds.”

“Rey…” he choked out, taking another step towards her. Why did this feel like they were breaking up? They may fight a lot, but he didn't want to break up. “I don't care what my _friends_ think. If I did, I wouldn't even be with you. And if they were truly friends, they'd care about my happiness, not any kind of social standards. I _like_ the dirt under your nails, or when you haven't showered yet that day and your hair is all messed up from being under a car. I think it’s incredibly hot.” He was standing about three feet away from her, just out of arm’s reach. “I want _you_ , though. And I know I'm shitty at showing it, but in the time we've spent together, even if half of it was fighting, I've never wanted anyone the way I want you.”

He moved to stand next to her, digging into one of the bags in the back of the car that held their clothes, looking for _something._

“I want you, too, Ben,” she replied softly. She’d said his given name three times since she’d learned it, twice having been when they were making slow, sweet love and he’d asked her to, and once when she was trying desperately to get him to pay attention to her instead of his computer. She didn’t like to lord it over him in any way, but she also felt like it had a sense of power, so she reserved the use of it. But now seemed like an appropriate time. She wanted to communicate how serious she was about him and using that name helped give her words gravity.

Halting his search at the sound of his name, he turned to look at her slowly, eyes intense and serious as they searched hers. Fuck it, that could wait.

Reaching out, he grasped her face in his large hands and dragged her into him as he stepped forward, meeting her halfway as he lowered his face down to crush their lips together. She tasted just like she always did, though it was slightly salty from her tears. He didn't want her to cry, not over him, and he wasn't going to break her heart any further.

He lowered one hand from her face to splay across her lower back, pulling her right up against him. “I'm sorry. I love you,” he whispered as he barely pulled away from her mouth. “Things are going to change, I promise. I'm going to quit that job, and focus on you. You deserve everything, and I haven't been giving it to you.”

“Ben, no. You love your job, and you’re really good at it. Plus, you help people. So many people would be wrongfully imprisoned if not for you and there is no way in heaven or hell that Hux could keep the practice afloat without you. I’m sorry I’m whining. I know you love me just as much as I love you, and you know I have attachment issues. My nightmares have been so much better these last eight months because I _have_ felt safe and loved and wanted. You make me feel like that every day, but then the old insecurities rear their head and I think that you’re just messing with me while you look for someone truly worthy of how amazing you are,” she said, eyes shining in the setting sun with her sincerity. She was always afraid of him leaving her, of seeing someone tall and sleek and posh and beautiful on his arm as he sneered down at her and said that she was just an easy lay while be looked for his real match. Maybe that was why she’d always fought with him, just to prove that she wasn’t so easy. Maybe if she was a challenge, she’d keep him interested.

Giving her an incredulous look, he stared for a moment before smiling slowly, reaching behind him to yank the bag over again. Now that he wasn't in a hurry, he found it easily, of course. Pulling the little velvet box from the bag, he held it between them and twirled it in his fingers. “I got this,” he said, looking down at the box, “on our six month anniversary. I've never felt so sure of someone in my life, Rey, and I've just been holding onto it for two months, trying to muster up the courage. I wanted to do it on this trip, but either your friends were there or we were arguing and it didn't really seem like the right time.”

“Are you…are we...what? Seriously?” She gasped out, looking down at the little box and thinking of what he just said. He wanted her? He wanted to _marry_ her? “Ben, are you positive? Like, you’ve thought this through, right? You know I’m not fancy or anything, remember?”

Giving an exasperated sigh, he said, “Yes, Rey, I _know_ you're not fancy. And I'm okay with that. More than okay. So yes, this is me…” he said, dropping down onto one knee in the dirt, getting his pants covered in dust. He lifted the box and opened it, revealing a very simple looking band with a small but very obvious diamond in the middle. He figured it would be more her speed without being too frilly. “...asking you to marry me. Will you keep putting up with my bullshit, Rey?”

“Oh my God, yes!” Rey immediately squealed, dropping to her own knees to wrap her arms around his back and crush her lips to his. She didn’t care if he dropped the ring, she just needed to her mouth on his. She kissed him hungirly, hot and heavy and full of passion. She was already mentally unpacking the trunk of the useless SUV and pushing the seats down, ready to be show her appreciation for the man she loved proposing. He loved her. He loved her so much he wanted to marry her. And she was going to marry him, come hell or high water. They may fight like crazy, but they also made up just as passionately and this was definitely the best one yet.

He made a noise against her mouth that sounded vaguely like _“good”_ and kissed her back just as roughly, gathering her up into his arms with his hands cupping her ass, her legs around his waist, and he pushed himself to his feet. Moving blindly around the edge of the car, brushing his side along it as he went to keep track of where they were at, he flung the back door open and deposited her on the seat. She was already scooting back to make room for him, and they worked together on getting the seats to tuck down so that there was a nice flat space for them. He climbed in after her and used his foot to kick the bags out of the trunk to finish folding everything down.

As soon as that was done, he was on her again, one hand sliding up under her shirt to cup her breast, the ring forgotten in the dirt with the bags. Groping at her, squeezing before letting go, he slid his hand back down to grab the hem of her shirt, sliding it up and over her head. That he at least threw into the front seat and then set to work on her shorts, shucking those and her underwear down easily enough.

Laying her out in the back of his SUV, he settled himself between her legs, allowing her to help him remove his own shirt (oh god, that was so much cooler), and push his pants down, giving a frustrated growl when he had to pause and turn to kick his shoes off first.

When they were both fully nude, he turned back to her and froze. With the trunk still open, the setting sun hit her and gave her skin a wonderfully warm glow and set her eyes on fire. And the _look_ she was giving him. God, that was reserved just for him. How did he get so lucky to land her in the first place? How did he get so lucky to _keep_ her, after how he'd treated her? He wouldn't make that mistake again. “Rey, I want you to only call me Ben now,” he said softly, trailing his eyes across her chest, taking in her dusky pink nipples, almost orange in the dying sunlight. “No more Kylo, not from you.” It was a whispered plea as he lowered himself down to her, immediately mouthing at her breast.

“Oh Ben,” she sighed happily, threading her hands through his thick curls and arching her chest into his mouth. She couldn’t believe this was actually happening, that he’d been _planning_ it for two whole months. She'd noticed the shift in his attitude towards her around then at the time and she’d been so worried that it meant the worst was coming. She’d planned this trip so that they could reconnect, a desperate attempt to keep him in her life. Because she loved him. She truly and honestly did and now they were going to be engaged and then married and she would never feel unloved or abandoned again.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, seeking out penetration as he mouthed so wonderfully at her breasts. She remembered when they first had sex, how insecure she had felt about her body and how he had erased those fears with the reverent swiping of his lips and tongue all over her. If there was one thing Ben Solo _always_ did right, it was worship his girl. Oddly enough, that was how Rey realized she was in love with him, rather than simple lust. The deep connection they had when they made love was something she’d never experienced before and it had helped their everyday relationship exponentially. And now she would get that forever. She couldn't believe she was this lucky. How had _he_ picked _her_?

Grazing his teeth lightly over her nipple, he tore himself away from her to seek out her mouth again, immediately delving inside as he pushed his hips into hers, sliding into her body one inch at a time. He braced himself on his forearms beside her head as he explored her mouth with long sweeping strokes of his tongue against hers.

He took her body the same pace that he took her mouth, slow and steady, with powerful but measured thrusts. “I love you so much, Rey,” he said into her mouth, his lips hovering just above hers for a fraction of a second before he returned to her again. He gave another pump of his hips, revelling in the way her body clung to his so perfectly.

He still couldn't believe that he'd been so stupid to treat her like second-best, and if he could go back in time and thump himself over the head, he would. She was his everything, and he'd somehow managed to look past that. He'd meant what he'd said about quitting his job for her, but it was a conversation they'd have to have later since she'd told him not to. They'd have to come to some sort of happy medium, but that would be later. Right now, he wanted to make her body sing, and he picked up a little speed, going just a bit harder.

She clung tightly to him, legs locked around his hips as he began to pound harder into her. “Oh god, Ben! I love you, I love you so much,” she replied, her words intermixed with moans of pleasure. She leaned up a bit on her elbows to mouth at his neck, licking and sucking at the salty, sweaty skin that she loved so much. She loved everything about him, even his stupid temper and moments of useless rage. He was passionate about so much in life, and she was so happy to be one of those things.

“Just like that, baby. Keep doing it just like that,” she began to babble, feeling the coil in her stomach beginning to tighten. She’d always had such a hard time coming with a partner in the past but Ben knew exactly how to work her, exactly where to angle himself to bring her the maximum amount of pleasure.  

Reaching down to grab her hands in both of his, he hauled them over her head and laced their fingers together. He used the slight change in position to gain more leverage, following her command to keep stroking that one spot over and over. It drew a shudder from him at the sensations, and goosebumps broke out along his skin, even in the hot summer air. “Come with me, sweetheart,” he pled, ducking his head down to kiss and suck along the edge of her jaw, his hands squeezing hers just a little bit. Knowing that she needed just a little more, though, he released one of her hands and reached down in between them to rub his index finger right along her clit, lifting his head up just enough to watch her. Damn it, he probably should have washed his hands first. That was going to be another fight later.

She jerked at the sensation of him rubbing her clit, deciding to ignore the idea that his hands were most definitely dirty in favor of enjoying the pleasure of it. She’d just have to find some wipes or something afterwards to make sure this did not lead to a UTI or anything. She did not want to deal with having a UTI while they were so far away from home…

“Ben!” she cried out, immediately forgetting what she had been thinking about as he picked up up the speed on both his thrusts and his finger. “I’m gonna come, baby, I’m gonna come all over you,” she whimpered.

“Good,” he growled, punctuating it by driving himself further, deeper into her. Somewhere in the back of his head, his mind was screaming at them for being stupid and exerting themselves in the middle of the desert with very limited water and no end in sight, but that was a problem for another time. Right now, they were going to come, and tell each other they loved each other, and then they were going to take the other’s hand and go fix the problem to the best of their ability. Or die of dehydration, whatever came first.

Rey tried to hold off, she tried to keep her head and last as long as possible, but then he hit it _so right_ and she came completely undone, clenching him tightly inside as she shuddered beneath him. Somewhere in her mind, she glowed with childish pride that she was dripping out onto his leather seats and that it could possibly leave an incredibly questionable stain, something that would have gone completely unnoticed in her ancient station wagon. Instead, she focused on how amazing it felt to come so hard for him, for her fiance. Something warmed inside her belly to think that he would never do this with another person besides her again. He was hers and she was his and there was nothing but them, crying out in pleasure on the side of the road in the middle of the desert while the sun made his pale skin glow like some sort of a dark god.

Lifting his head from where he'd tucked it into the side of her neck, he looked down into her face, his own a bit sheepish as he bent down to kiss her softly before climbing out from between her legs. The car may have been nice, but it was still fucking in a car, and it wasn't _that_ luxurious. “I love you,” he repeated, whispering it like a prayer. “But, I don't want to sleep in the car in the middle of the desert at night, so let's try to salvage what we can. Maybe limp this piece of shit back to civilization or something.”

“I love you, too,” she said, smiling as she sat up. She found her shirt, not bothering with her bra, and opened the center console to look for the pack of Wet Wipes that she knew was usually in there. She cleaned herself off quickly, wincing at the feeling of sand scraping at her sensitive skin, and shimmied her underwear and shorts back on. She hopped out of the car and immediately scooped up the now-dusty velvet box, grinning from ear to ear as she opened it and look at her ring away.

“You really bought this for me two months ago? Why? Why in the world do you want to marry me?” she asked, sliding it onto her finger and admiring how it sparkled so beautifully in the setting sun. She was not at all a material girl, but how could you not smile looking at your engagement ring?

He hopped out of the car behind her and bent down to grab his pants, stepping back into them before pulling them back up around his hips, leaving his shirt off. It was way too hot for that right now, even with the sun going down. All the exertion of having sex with his fiancee and all that. “How could I not?” He asked as he walked around to stand beside her, looking down at the ring. “I think it fits you. I'm sorry about everything,” he said again, leaning down to press his lips to her temple.

“While I normally wouldn’t accept bribery as a form of apology, this time I will make an exception. What kind of wife would I be if I didn’t forgive my husband when he seemed genuinely remorseful?” she teased, finding herself already leaning against him again. She loved being near him, touching him in any way. “This means no more slipping out of bed at 4AM so you can get home to get ready for court in the morning, or me not being able to come over until after 8 because someone needed an emergency repair and I had to shower off all that oil before I saw you. We can actually spend time together because we will _be_ together. Forever.”

“I like the sound of that,” he smiled earnestly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “And every morning before I head out, I'll wake you up _properly_ ,” he promised. “Do you prefer fingers or tongue?” Chuckling quietly to himself, he shook his head. He knew exactly what she preferred. Adopting a more serious tone, he said, “I’ll talk to Hux about leaving most of my work at work. Unless you actually want me to quit. I can go somewhere else…” He didn't necessarily _want_ to, but his relationship with Rey was more important.

“Ben, you’re an amazing lawyer. You just need to get better and balancing your home and work life. It’s something we will help each other with. I will cut back at the garage, too.” While she wasn’t guilty of doing her work of her vacation, she knew she spent too many hours there instead of with him. She had always been compelled with the compassion of helping others, but when it came at the cost of her relationship, she knew a line needed to be drawn just as much it did for him.

“Speaking of the garage...now that I’m not pissed, I think I can fix this. But only if my fiance helps me,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Of course,” he said, looking into the trunk of the SUV again. His laptop bag was still there, still soaked, and he looked at it forlornly for a long time. He was mad that it was drenched but that was no one’s fault. And he'd probably lost a shit ton of data on his cases. Honestly, he didn't even want to deal with it right now. He grabbed one of the remaining water bottles and cracked it open to take a small sip before offering some to her. Having sex in the desert was probably not one of their better ideas.

“What do you need me to do?” He asked, rummaging around in the back of the car for the tool bag they kept for emergencies.

She pulled a flashlight from the bag and smiled as she held it out to him. “Just keep this torch pointed at wherever I’m working and we’ll be golden.”

She gave him a quick kiss and got to work. They had more places to see and friends to meet. As the flashlight caught the ring on her finger, she felt a giddy thrill at all of the adventures that laid before them.

This road trip had been a great idea, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Kisses <3


End file.
